Virtual Cockpit

GPS-Based Flight Instrument Simulator for Android

Welcome

Virtual Cockpit transforms your Android phone into a realistic flight instrument panel. Using GPS and built-in sensors, it displays a classic eight-instrument panel that responds to real motion — whether you're walking, biking, driving, or flying.

Virtual Cockpit is a Trip Recorder as well as being a flight instrument panel simulator. Tap the REC button and a data file is created. When you tap STOP the data file is saved in the VirtualCockpit folder in DOWNLOADS as a KML file. Tap the FILES button to view the KML files that Virtual Cockpit has recorded. You can choose a KML file and tap it to open it and view your trip as a track in Google Earth.

Virtual Cockpit embeds data from your Android device sensors in the KML file. This additional data can be used in the future to visualize your trip more vividly than Google Earth. A Windows KML visualization application is under development — keep checking here for updates.

Current Version: 2.3.14a (October 6, 2026)

Features

• Eight Instruments: Airspeed, Attitude, Altimeter, G-Meter, Turn Coordinator, Heading, Vertical Speed, Clock
• GPS + Sensor Modes: Uses GPS when moving, magnetic compass when stationary
• Manual Override: Tap controls to compare GPS vs sensor readings
• Kollsman Knob: Altimeter modes (QNH, QNE, QFE and GPS) shown in the knob, with a number pad popup — enter the barometer setting and press SET, or enter a known elevation to correct the pressure sensor
• Speed Units: Knots (KTS), Miles per Hour (MPH), or Kilometers per Hour (KPH); long-press a unit button to change the airspeed dial scale (200 / 400 / 800)
• Trip Recorder: Tap REC to record your track and full sensor data to a KML file, with a summary TXT file when you stop.
• Barometric Altitude: Altitude and vertical speed from the phone's barometer (QNH, QNE and QFE modes), so the altimeter and VSI work without GPS
• Dual Compass Mode: Works with phone vertical (instrument panel) or flat (on table)
• Barometer Calibration: Enter a known elevation in the Kollsman popup and the altimeter learns an offset and slope correction, weighted by how much you can trust the data — each calibration point is logged for later analysis
• Distance-Triggered Recording: Records every 100m of movement — no data waste when stationary
• Interrupted Recording Recovery: If a recording is interrupted, the app offers to continue it the next time it starts
• Menu System: Built-in Instructions, Theory, Help, Data, and About pages
• MC Status Indicator: Master Caution button shows GPS state — available, searching, or disabled

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Download

Current Version: 2.3.14a

Click the icon below to download the APK installation file:

Next update: Another release is planned for November or December 2026. It's expected to continue tuning how smoothly the attitude indicator and turn coordinator track real turns in GPS mode (2.3.11 to 2.3.14a are steps toward this, not the final word), and may add a single GPS-mode control on the altimeter that drives the turn coordinator and heading indicator together, instead of three separate mode buttons. Check back here, or watch for an email if you're on the beta tester list.

Requirements

• Android 6.0 or newer
• GPS and location permission (needed for speed, heading and the Trip Recorder)
• Optional sensors: barometer (altitude and vertical speed without GPS), gyroscope and magnetometer (compass and recorded sensor data). Virtual Cockpit works with whatever your phone has — see About Sensors

Installation Steps

1. Click the download link above
2. Open your Downloads folder and tap the APK file
3. If prompted, allow installation from unknown sources
4. Google Play Protect may scan the file for safety
5. Follow the prompts to complete installation

Privacy: Virtual Cockpit uses your phone's location and sensors only to run the instruments and, when you tap REC, to write the trip files in the VirtualCockpit folder in Downloads on your phone. The app does not send your data anywhere.

Note: Virtual Cockpit will be available on Google Play soon. Beta testers get early access via direct APK download.

Beta expiry: This beta build stops running after December 31, 2026. Check this page for a newer version before then.

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Instructions

Getting Started

• Hold your phone in landscape orientation (wide, not tall)
• For best results, hold the phone vertical like an instrument panel, screen facing you
• The compass also works with the phone flat on a table or airline tray
• Grant location permission when prompted
• The app works best when mounted in a vehicle or held steady

Screen Layout

The screen is divided into two areas:

• Left column: MENU button, speed unit buttons (KTS/MPH/KPH), Trip Recorder controls (REC/STOP, FILES), and MC (Master Caution) status button
• Center area: Eight instruments arranged in a 4×2 grid

The Instruments

Airspeed Indicator (top row, position 1)

• Shows ground speed from GPS
• Default scale: 0-200 in the selected unit
• Tap KTS/MPH/KPH buttons on the left to change units
• Long-press a unit button to cycle the dial scale: 200 → 400 → 800 → 200 (handy for faster aircraft)
• Unit label displayed in the center of the dial
• Shows zero when GPS is unavailable

Attitude Indicator (top row, position 2)

• Blue = sky, Brown = ground
• Yellow miniature aircraft in center as reference
• Bank index marks at 10°, 20°, 30°, and 60°
• Pitch lines at 5° and 10° intervals
• Follows the Turn Coordinator source box (tap it to switch):
  • MAG: Shows actual phone tilt relative to gravity (smooth IIR filtering reduces jitter)
  • GPS: Shows computed bank angle from coordinated turn physics, pitch from climb rate

Altimeter (top row, position 3)

• Three-needle display like a real aircraft altimeter
• Long triangle pointer: 10,000 ft increments (one rotation = 100,000 ft)
• Short wide hand: 1,000 ft increments (one rotation = 10,000 ft)
• Long thin hand: 100 ft increments (one rotation = 1,000 ft)
• Kollsman Window (small box on dial face):
  • Shows the pressure setting in use, in inHg or hPa depending on the selected unit: the QNH in QNH mode, the QFE in QFE mode, 29.92 / 1013.2 in QNE mode, or "GPS" in GPS mode
  • It is display only — tapping it does nothing
• Kollsman Knob (small circle at bottom-left of bezel):
  • The knob shows the current altimeter mode: QNH, QNE, QFE or GPS
  • Tap the knob to open the popup. MODE steps through QNH, QNE, QFE and GPS; the mode button beside it (showing the mode you have stepped to) selects that mode and closes the popup. SET applies the setting for the mode shown and also selects it
  • GPS can only be selected while there is a GPS fix; otherwise it is greyed out. If GPS is lost while in GPS mode, the altimeter falls back to the last barometric mode and the label on the knob turns red. If GPS comes back and you have not chosen a mode, VC returns to GPS after a few seconds. Choosing a mode clears the red
  • QNH mode: BAROMETER (QNH) shows the pressure setting; underneath, "Sensor implies" shows the pressure your phone's barometer currently suggests. ELEVATION (FROM QNH) shows the elevation that goes with it
  • QNE mode: a fixed standard setting of 29.92 inHg / 1013.25 hPa, used for flight levels. Nothing to set, and your QNH and QFE are left alone
  • QFE mode: enter the QFE (the field pressure a control tower gives). The popup shows the field elevation that QFE implies and how far above or below the field the altimeter will read. ZERO HERE sets the QFE to the current pressure so the altimeter reads 0 where you stand. The first time you use QFE, it starts at the current pressure
  • CHANGE button beside each box opens the number pad for that box (digits, decimal point, C clears, ⌫ deletes the last digit)
  • UNITS toggles inHg and hPa; CANCEL closes the popup without changing anything
  • Calibrating the pressure sensor: a plain SET changes only the setting. If you change the ELEVATION (QNH) or FIELD ELEVATION (QFE) box to a known value, VC shows a caution — pressure inside a moving vehicle or airplane, or even inside a building, can differ from the outside air — and asks whether to APPLY a calibration point or NOT NOW (settings only)
  • QNH and QFE settings are remembered between mode switches and app restarts. When QNH is updated, the QFE keeps the same field elevation
  • The popup and the full-screen menu pages can be used with the phone rotated to portrait; the instrument panel itself stays landscape
• Altitude accuracy in GPS mode is approximately equal to GPS altitude accuracy
  The Kollsman popup: MODE and mode buttons, BAROMETER and ELEVATION boxes, number pad, and UNITS / CANCEL / SET

G-Meter (top row, position 4)

• Round dial showing current G-force
• Scale: -1G to +3G
• 1G reference at 9 o'clock position (normal gravity when level)
• Tick marks at 0.5G intervals
• Useful for monitoring turns, acceleration, and maneuvers
• Works regardless of GPS — always reads from accelerometer

Turn Coordinator (bottom row, position 1)

• Miniature airplane shows turn rate, not bank angle
• Wings aligned with L/R marks = standard rate turn (3°/second, 360° in 2 minutes)
• Inclinometer ball shows slip/skid — keep it centered for coordinated flight. It follows the phone's sideways acceleration in GPS mode; in MAG mode it stays centered
• "2 MIN" label indicates standard rate timing
• Source box shows MAG or GPS — tap to toggle between magnetic (compass heading trend) and GPS-derived turn rate
• Airplane locked level when stationary (below 5 knots)

Heading Indicator (bottom row, position 2)

• Rotating compass card with N, E, S, W and numeric headings every 30°
• Yellow lubber line at top shows current heading
• Source indicator box shows data source:
  • GPS: Heading from GPS ground track (accurate when moving)
  • AUTO: GPS mode selected but falling back to MAG (speed below 5 knots)
  • MAG: Heading from magnetic compass (used when stationary or in MAG mode)
  • ERR: Phone tilted beyond reliable compass range — heading frozen at last good value
• Tap the source box to toggle between GPS and MAG heading
• Compass works with phone vertical (normal use) or flat on a table

Vertical Speed Indicator (bottom row, position 3)

• Shows climb or descent rate in feet per minute (FPM)
• Scale: ±2,000 FPM (zero at 9 o'clock, ±2000 meeting at 3 o'clock)
• UP/DN labels with 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 thousand markers
• Uses GPS altitude change rate, or barometric rate when in QNH/QNE/QFE mode

Clock (bottom row, position 4)

• 12-hour analog clock with hour, minute, and second hands
• Timezone box (above center) shows abbreviation (e.g., MST, EDT)
• AM/PM box (below center) shows time of day
  • Green text = synchronized with network time
  • Red text = using device time only

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Left Column Controls

MENU Button

• Opens a dropdown menu with five pages:
  • INSTRUCTIONS: User manual
  • THEORY: How each instrument works physically and mathematically
  • HELP: Quick per-instrument reference guide
  • DATA: Live sensor data display (accelerometer, attitude, compass, barometer, GPS, settings)
  • ABOUT: Version, credits, and copyright

Speed Unit Buttons (KTS / MPH / KPH)

• Tap to select speed units for the airspeed indicator
• Selected button highlighted in yellow
• Long-press to cycle the airspeed dial scale (200 / 400 / 800)
• KTS = Knots (nautical miles per hour)
• MPH = Miles per hour
• KPH = Kilometers per hour

REC / STOP Button (Trip Recorder)

• Tap REC to start recording your trip
• Button changes to STOP (red) while recording
• Tap STOP and confirm to end recording and save the file; a summary popup shows points, duration, distance, and speed
• Recording is crash-safe — if the app closes unexpectedly, data up to that point is preserved, and the next time the app starts it offers to continue that recording
• Records both the KML track and the full sensor state (sensor data comments) for later analysis

FILES Button

• Opens the Downloads/VirtualCockpit/ folder
• Recorded tracks saved as KML files
• Filename format: Trip_VirtualCockpit_YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS.kml (older recordings are named FDR_VirtualCockpit_...; they still open normally)
• A matching .txt summary file is saved beside each KML
• Tap a KML file to open in Google Earth

MC — Master Caution Button

• Shows current GPS status:
• MC ✓ (green): GPS fix acquired, position data active
• MC ✗ (gray): GPS enabled but no fix yet (searching)
• MC (yellow): GPS disabled (device location off or app permission denied)

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Comparing GPS vs Sensor Readings

You can independently toggle GPS for two instrument groups:

Turn Coordinator source box (tap the MAG/GPS box) controls:

• Airspeed Indicator — GPS speed vs zero
• Attitude Indicator — GPS-derived bank/pitch vs accelerometer tilt
• Turn Coordinator — GPS turn rate vs magnetic turn rate

Heading Indicator source box (tap the GPS/MAG/AUTO/ERR box) controls:

• Heading Indicator — GPS track vs magnetic compass

Altimeter (GPS mode in the Kollsman knob popup) controls:

• Altimeter — GPS altitude vs barometric altitude (QNH, QNE or QFE)
• VSI — GPS altitude rate vs barometric rate

These toggles are guarded — GPS options are disabled when GPS is unavailable, preventing confusing states.

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Barometer Calibration

Your phone's barometer is accurate but not perfect, and every phone reads a little differently. Virtual Cockpit learns the difference each time you add a calibration point in the Kollsman popup.

How it works:

• Open the Kollsman popup in QNH mode and enter the barometer setting (QNH). To calibrate, also change the ELEVATION box to a known elevation, then press SET
• A plain SET (elevation not changed) only updates the setting — the correction is left alone
• If you change the elevation, VC shows a caution and asks you to confirm. APPLY treats it as new information and adjusts an offset and a slope correction for the barometer; NOT NOW applies the setting only
• In QFE mode you can do the same by changing the FIELD ELEVATION box to the true field elevation
• How much the correction moves depends on confidence: it grows with the number of calibration points, how far apart in elevation they were, and how well they fit together
• The correction is limited to a sensible range, so one bad entry cannot wreck the altimeter
• Every calibration point is recorded in Downloads/VirtualCockpit/calibration_history.csv for analysis

For best results:

• Keep QNH current — set it from a nearby METAR or weather report before flying
• Add calibration points at a place whose elevation you know for certain (home, an airfield, a surveyed benchmark)
• Points at several different elevations teach the slope correction faster than repeated points in one place
• Calibrate outdoors and stationary — not inside a building, a moving vehicle or an aircraft

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Compass Tips

Phone Orientation:

• Vertical (X-up): Phone upright like an instrument panel — normal use
• Flat (Z-up): Phone lying flat on a table or tray — also works
• The app automatically switches between compass algorithms based on phone tilt
• Transition between orientations is smoothed to avoid jumps

Error Detection:

• If you tilt the phone too far (screen facing down, or rolled sideways), the heading becomes unreliable
• The source box will show "ERR" and the heading will freeze at the last good value
• Return the phone to a valid orientation to resume heading updates

Magnetic Interference:

• The magnetometer can be affected by nearby metal or electronics
• Car interiors, phone cases with magnets, and some mounts may cause errors
• For best accuracy, keep the phone away from magnetic sources
• Use GPS heading when moving for most accurate direction

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About Trip Recording

The Trip Recorder saves your trip as a KML file, compatible with Google Earth. Each track point also carries a full sensor data snapshot for later analysis.

Recording Features:

• Track points saved every 100 metres of movement — no data waste when stationary
• Each point includes pipe-delimited sensor data: heading, altitude, speed, bank, pitch, turn rate, G-forces, barometric pressure, raw accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, rotation quaternion, and GPS accuracy
• The recorded speed is always in knots
• Crash-safe: data is written incrementally, so even if the app closes unexpectedly, your track up to that point is saved, and you can continue that recording the next time the app starts
• Metadata includes: app version, recording duration, number of points
• Sensor recording continues with the app in the background or the screen off (from 2.3.14; earlier versions repeated the last sensor values)
• The track is drawn as a solid yellow line, and Google Earth automatically frames it when you open the file
• A .txt summary is saved beside each KML: points, start and end time, duration, distance, average and maximum speed, extents, GPS altitude range and gain, GPS accuracy, and barometer information

Viewing Your Tracks:

1. Tap FILES to open Downloads folder
2. Tap the KML file to open in Google Earth
3. Or transfer the file to a computer for viewing in Google Earth Pro

The summary shown after you stop a recording

Sensor Data for Analysis:

The sensor data embedded in each KML file is designed to support a companion Windows app that will visualize your trip — heading, altitude, roll, pitch, and yaw graphs with a route overlay on a map. The raw sensor data (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, rotation quaternion) also allows the device orientation relative to the vehicle or aircraft to be reconstructed, so the phone can be mounted in any fixed position during a trip.

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About Sensors

Virtual Cockpit uses the sensors built into your Android device. The more sensors your device has, the more features will be available.

Sensors Used by Virtual Cockpit

What If a Sensor Is Missing?

Note: Most modern Android phones have all required sensors. Virtual Cockpit will use whatever is available and gracefully handle missing sensors.

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Future Plans

Coming Soon

• Windows Companion App: Desktop app to visualize your trip more vividly than Google Earth, including replaying recorded trips with animated instruments
• Night/Red Mode: Red lighting for dark conditions, preserves night vision
• Photo-Realistic Instruments: Bitmap bezels, glass overlays, and enhanced dial textures
• iOS Version: Port to iPhone/iPad via Kotlin Multiplatform

Under Consideration

• Glass Cockpit Mode — Modern Garmin-style PFD display with tape instruments
• Flight Logbook — Automatic logging of trips with statistics
• Compass calibration wizard
• HUD mode for windshield mounting
• Audio alerts for altitude and bank angle

Have a suggestion? Email me at virtualcockpitfun@gmail.com

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Become a Beta Tester

Your feedback as a Virtual Cockpit beta tester is valuable! Help shape the app by reporting what works, what doesn't, and what features you'd like to see.

How to Participate

1. Download and install the latest version
2. Use it during your normal activities — driving, biking, walking, flying
3. Try different features: toggle GPS modes, record tracks, compare sensor readings, use the Kollsman knob, try calibration
4. Send feedback to virtualcockpitfun@gmail.com

What to Report

• Bugs or crashes (include your device model and Android version)
• Instruments that don't seem accurate
• Features you like or don't like
• Suggestions for improvements
• New feature ideas

Test Scenarios to Try

• Compare GPS heading vs MAG heading while driving — do they match?
• Try the compass with phone vertical, then flat on a table
• Record a drive with REC and view it in Google Earth
• Force-close the app during recording — is the track still saved, and does the app offer to continue it when you reopen it?
• Try the Kollsman knob: step through QNH, QNE, QFE and GPS; use ZERO HERE in QFE; then change QNH and check the QFE field elevation stays the same
• Enter a known elevation in the Kollsman popup, press SET and APPLY — does the altimeter agree afterwards? Try it at a second elevation too
• Drive in MAG mode: does the turn coordinator stay calm on straight roads and follow your turns?
• Record a trip, switch to another app or lock the screen for a while, then check the KML: do the sensor values keep changing?
• Open Menu → DATA and compare raw sensor values with displayed instruments
• Test on different devices if you have access to them

Prizes: Beta testers who suggest features that get implemented will receive recognition and rewards!

Share: Feel free to invite friends to join the beta. Ask them to email me to get on the official tester list for update notifications.

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Recent Version History

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